Naturalization Requirements
Table of Contents
Part I
1 General Information
2 How to Apply for Naturalization
Filing the Application--Fingerprints
Citizenship of Applicant's Children
Examination on the Application
Oath Ceremony
3 General Naturalization Requirements
Age
Lawful Admission
Residence & Physical Presence
Permission to be Absent
(a) Employment by American Organizations
(b) Employment by the U. S. Government
(c) Service for Religious Organizations
Character and Loyalty
Communist Party and Similar Membership
Deportation
Literacy and Educational Requirements
Oath of Allegiance
4 Naturalization Requirements for Special
Classes
Wives and Husbands of U.S. Citizens
Marriage to a Citizen
Marriage to a Citizen Stationed Abroad
Overseas Assignment of Citizen Spouses
Surviving Spouse of US. Citizen Service Member
Naturalization of Children of Citizen Parents
Naturalization of Adopted Children of Citizen
Parents
Former U. S. Citizens
Veterans of Foreign Armed Forces
American Women Who Married Aliens
Service Members of the Military or Veterans
Military Service During Certain Periods
Ineligible Service Members
Service for Three Years
(1) When Three Years' Service Continuous
(2) When Three Years' Not Continuous.
(3) Application Made more than
Six Months After
Service Ends
Mariners
Employees of Organizations Promoting United
States
Interests Abroad
Posthumous Citizenship
5 Naturalization and Citizenship Paper Lost,
Mutilated, or
Destroyed, or Where Name has been Changed
6 Declaration of Intention
7 Certificates of Citizenship for Children
and Wives of
Citizens
8 Legalizing Stay in the United States
9 Offices of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service
General Information
Part I
This booklet provides information in brief
and plain
language about the principal requirements for
naturalization;
the special classes of persons who are exempt
from some of
those requirements; and what a person must do
to become a
naturalized citizen of the United States. It also
includes a
brief discussion on how to obtain a copy of a
naturalization or
citizenship paper (part 5); how to file a declaration
of
intention (part 6); how to obtain a Certificate
of Citizenship
(part 7); and how to legalize an alien's residence
in the
United States so that he or she may be able to
apply for
naturalization (part 8).
The naturalization laws equally apply
to both men and
women and to all races. All persons follow the
same procedures
and become naturalized citizens of the United
States in the
same way.
An alien living in the United States must
keep the
Immigration and Naturalization Service informed
of changes in
his or her address. A lawful permanent resident
is given an
Alien Registration Receipt Card. This card has
a number on it
which should be shown in all applications and
when writing to
the Immigration and Naturalization Service about
a case.
Anyone who cannot find the answer to a
naturalization
related problem in this pamphlet or who may desire
any
additional information, may obtain it from the
nearest office
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
A list of
offices of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service appears
in Part 9.
How to Apply for Naturalization
Part 2
The requirements for naturalization that
need fuller
explanation are discussed in more detail at a
later point. The
steps to become naturalized, however, are the
same for all
persons and are set out below.
Filing the Application - Fingerprints
The first step is to get an application
and, except for
children under 14 years of age, a fingerprint
card from the
nearest office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service or
from a social service agency in the community.
The application
to be used is Form N-400, "Application for
Naturalization." For
an optional procedure to gain citizenship for
an adopted child
of U.S. citizen parents (or parent, if single),
see page 24.
The application, the fingerprint card,
and the Biographic
Information form if appropriate, which are furnished
without
charge, must be filled out according to the instructions
and
filed with the office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service with jurisdiction over the applicant's
residence. Three
unsigned photographs as described in the application
must be
submitted. A fee is required and must be submitted
with the
application. No currency should be sent by mail.
Citizenship of Applicant's Children
If a parent who is applying for naturalization
expects to
be naturalized before any of his or her children
reaches age
18, it is likely that such children who are living
in the
United States will automatically become citizens.
This would
happen if the children's other parent already
is a citizen, or
is deceased, or if both parents are naturalized
at the same
time, or if the parents are legally separated
and the parent
being naturalized has the legal custody of the
children, or if
the parent being naturalized is the mother of
the children and
the children were born out of wedlock.
These children may obtain certificates
of citizenship in
their own names, showing that they became citizens
on the same
date that the parent was naturalized, by filing
Form N-600,
"Application for Certificate of Citizenship,"
in accordance
with instructions on the form. The application
must be filed
after the naturalization of the parent(s). A fee
is required
and must be submitted with the application. No
currency should
be sent in the mail. The children involved who
are over age 14
will appear before the naturalization examiner
and must take
the same oath of allegiance as is required of
persons who
naturalize.
Examination on the Application
After certain actions on the application
have been
completed by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, the
applicant must appear before a naturalization
examiner for
examination on the application. The Immigration
and
Naturalization Service will advise the applicant
when and where
to appear for the examination. The applicant will
be examined
on the information submitted on the application
for
naturalization, and on his or her English literacy
and
knowledge of the form of government and history
of the United
States.
If the examiner finds that an applicant
has not
demonstrated eligibility for naturalization, the
application
will be denied and the applicant will be so notified.
The
applicant may request a .hearing on the denied
application by
filing Form N-336, "Request for Hearing on
a Decision in
Naturalization Proceedings Under Section 335 of
the Act,"
according to instructions included on the form,
and with the
required fee.
Oath Ceremony
After the examination has been completed
and the
application approved, the applicant will be notified
to appear
at an oath ceremony where the applicant will be
sworn in as a
citizen of the United States. The applicant may
be able to
choose to be sworn in as a citizen by a Service
officer in a
Service-conducted ceremony or by a judge of a
competent court
in a court-conducted ceremony. In the event that
the applicant
wishes to apply for a change of name, the applicant
will be
required to appear at a court-conducted oath ceremony.
Sometimes an applicant for naturalization
is prevented by
sickness or physical disability from appearing
before an
examining officer. When this happens, it may be
possible to
make other arrangements so that the applicant
will not have to
travel to a Service office or to appear in court.
Further
information about what should be done by such
a person to
become naturalized can be obtained from the nearest
office of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
When the applicant appears at the oath
ceremony, he or she
takes an oath of allegiance to the United States.
In doing so,
he or she gives up allegiance to any foreign country
and
promises to support and defend the Constitution
and laws of the
United States.
When a large number of persons become
citizens in a
ceremony, it may not be possible to issue certificates
immediately showing that they have been granted
citizenship. In
such instances, the certificates of naturalization
are mailed
to them later, or other arrangements for subsequent
delivery
are made.
General Naturalization Requirements
Part 3
Applicants must be present in the United
States, and must
meet every requirement for naturalization in this
Part and Part
2, unless they are persons who fall within special
classes that
are exempt from some of those requirements. These
special
classes are discussed in Part 4. The basic requirements
for
naturalization are set out below.
Age
A person must be at least 18 years of
age before he or she
can apply for naturalization.
Lawful Admission
Only an alien who has been lawfully admitted
to this
country for permanent residence can be naturalized.
This means
that the alien must have been lawfully allowed
to live
permanently in this country as an immigrant. Not
all aliens in
the United States have been given this privilege.
Some, for
example, visitors, students, and seamen, have
been allowed to
come into this country only temporarily and, therefore,
cannot
lawfully remain here permanently. These persons
do not meet the
requirements of this paragraph. Neither does an
alien who
succeeded in getting into the United States unlawfully,
such as
by hiding convictions for serious crimes, or by
deserting a
ship, or by sneaking into the United States.
An alien who has been allowed to live
here permanently as
an immigrant loses that privilege, as well as
the privilege of
becoming naturalized, if he or she leaves the
United States
with the intention of abandoning residence in
this country.
Caution: An alien who has been admitted
to the United
States for permanent residence and who established
residence in
the United States may choose to be treated as
a nonresident
alien for the purpose of gaining certain benefits
under the
income tax laws. In order to become a nonresident
alien for
that purpose, the alien must leave the United
States and in
doing so must intend to abandon residence in the
United States.
The intent to abandon may be formed also after
the alien has
left the United States.
An alien who chooses to become a nonresident
for tax
purposes may be considered as having also given
up and lost his
or her status as an immigrant under the immigration
and
naturalization laws. This could mean that the
alien may become
ineligible for an immigrant visa, or a reentry
permit or other
document, for which permanent residents are eligible;
may
become inadmissible to the United States if seeking
readmission
as a returning resident with a reentry permit,
an alien
registration receipt card or a returning resident
visa; and may
become ineligible for naturalization.
Aliens should give careful consideration
to the possible
consequences mentioned above, before deciding
to claim
nonresident alien status for tax purposes.
Residence and Physical Presence
After an applicant has been admitted for
permanent
residence, he or she must reside in the United
States
continuously for at least five years just before
filing an
application for naturalization with the Service.
At least the last three months of that
five years'
residence, immediately before the filing of the
application,
must also be residence in the State or Service
district where
the application is being filed.
The applicant is not obliged to stay in
the United States
during every day of the five-year period. Short
visits may be
made outside the United States, either before
or after applying
for naturalization, and may include as part of
the required
five years' residence the time absent. However,
the applicant
must be sure that:
(a) he or she is not absent for a continuous
period of one
year or more and
(b) he or she is not out of the United States
for a total of
more than 30 months during the last five
years.
Generally, if the applicant is absent
for one year or more
at any one time during the five-year period just
before filing
the application, he or she breaks naturalization
residence and
must complete a new period of residence after
returning to the
United States. This means that he or she will
have to wait at
least four years and one day after coming back
before he or she
can be naturalized. Furthermore, if during the
five-year period
he or she has been absent for a total of more
than 30 months,
he or she will have to stay in the United States
until he or
she has been physically present for at least a
total of 30
months out of the last five years just before
filing an
application for naturalization.
Permission to be Absent
Under certain circumstances, persons and
their dependents
who expect to be continuously absent from the
United States for
a year or more in work within one of the below
listed classes
may be given permission to be absent without breaking
their
naturalization residence. To obtain this permission,
an
application must be made on Form N-470, "Application
to
Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes,"
in accordance
with the instruction on the form. The fee must
be submitted
with the form. No currency should be sent in the
mail.
Persons and dependent members of their
households who may
qualify for this permission fall into three categories
as
discussed below. It should be particularly noted
that there are
important differences between the classes with
regard to what
is necessary to be eligible for the permission,
when the
application must be made, and whether the person
may be
considered to be physically present as well as
residing in the
United States during the absence.
(a) Employment by American Organizations.
Such organizations
include:
(1) American firms or corporations, or
their subsidiaries,
which are developing foreign trade and commerce
of the
United States.
(2) American institutions of research
recognized by the
Attorney General.
(3) Certain public international organizations
in which
the United States takes part.
To be eligible to obtain permission, employees
within this
class must first have been physically present
in the
United States for an uninterrupted period
of at least one
year after their lawful admission for permanent
residence.
If possible, the application for permission
should be
filed before the applicant leaves the United
States. It
must be filed before the applicant has already
broken
residence by being continuously absent from
the United
States for as much as one year. It must be
filed even
though the employee has been issued a reentry
permit to
use to come back to the United States after
the absence.
The reentry permit alone is not enough to
protect
naturalization residence. Unless the application
is filed
and approved by the Immigration and Nationalization
Service, absence for a year or more will
break
naturalization residence even though the
absence may have
been for employment by one of the above organizations.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Immigration
and
Naturalization Service may have granted permission
for the
absence and, therefore, the applicant's naturalization
residence remains unbroken by the absence
of a year or
more, employees within this class cannot
include the time
they are absent as any part of the 30 months'
physical
presence required to qualify for naturalization.
Care must
be taken, therefore, to have been actually
physically
present in the United States for not less
than 30 months
of the five years just before filing applications
for
naturalization. The benefit of this section
includes the
applicant, the spouse and dependent unmarried
sons and
daughters.
(b) Employment by the United States Government.
The
requirements to obtain permission to be absent
and the
benefits of being granted permission are
the same for
United States Government employees and their
dependents as
for the employees of American organizations
above, with
one exception:
Government employees are regarded as physically
present in
the United States during the time they are
absent with the
required permission. They may include, therefore,
as part
of the 30 months' physical presence for naturalization
purposes the time that, with permission,
they are absent
in Government employment.
Government employees who are to be absent
for continuous
periods less than one year do not have to
apply for
permission to be absent, and may count each
continuous
period of less than one year abroad toward
the thirty
months that they must be physically present
in the United
States.
(c) Service for Religious Organizations. Persons
engaged
abroad as priests, ministers, missionaries,
brothers,
nuns, or sisters by a religious denomination
or
interdenominational mission organization
which has an
organization in the United States and who
are granted
permission to cover the absence enjoy the
same benefits
that are granted to Government employees,
including the
right to count as physical presence in the
United States
the time they are absent with permission.
Persons within this class have the additional
privilege of
applying for permission to cover the absence
at any. time.
They may also be granted permission to be
absent even
though they have not yet completed a year
of uninterrupted
physical presence in the United States after
their lawful
admission for permanent residence. If they
have not
completed this year of uninterrupted physical
presence,
however, they must complete at least one
year of
uninterrupted physical presence in the United
States
before they can file their applications for
naturalization. The benefit of this section
is limited to
the applicant.
Character and Loyalty
An applicant for naturalization must show
that, during all
of the five years just before filing an application
for
naturalization, and up until he or she is sworn
in as a
citizen, he or she has been a person of good moral
character
who believes in the principles of the Constitution
of the
United States and is favorable to the good order
and happiness
of the United States.
The naturalization law states that an
applicant for
naturalization cannot be considered to be of good
moral
character if he or she comes within any of the
following
classes at any time during the five-year period
and up until
becoming naturalized:
(a) Habitual drunkards;
(b) Polygamists, persons connected with prostitution
or
narcotics, criminals;
(c) Convicted gamblers, persons getting their
principal income
from gambling;
(d) Persons who lie under oath to gain a benefit
under the
immigration or naturalization laws;
(e) Persons convicted and jailed for as much
as 180 days.
A person also can never become a citizen
if he or she has
been convicted of murder or an aggravated felony
at any time.
The disqualifications listed above are
not the only
reasons for which a person may be found to lack
good moral
character. Other types of behavior may be taken
into
consideration by the Service officer in deciding
whether or not
an applicant has the good moral character required
to become a
citizen.
Aliens who have refused to performed their
duties to serve
in the armed forces of the United States may also
be denied
citizenship. These include persons who have been
convicted of
deserting or evading service in the armed forces
of the United
States during time of war, as well as persons
who applied for
and were given exemption from service on the ground
that they
were aliens.
Communist Party and Similar Membership
A person cannot become a citizen who,
at any time during a
period of ten years just before filing an application
for
naturalization, has been a member of or connected
with the
Communist Party or a similar party within or outside
the United
States; or a member of or connected with any other
party or
organization that is against all organized government
or for
world communism, dictatorship in the United States,
overthrowing the United States Government by force,
injuring or
killing officers of the United States, or sabotage.
If the membership or connection with any
of these parties
or organizations during the ten-year period was
involuntary, or
before 16 years of age, or compelled by law, or
to get
employment, food or the necessities of life, the
person may
become a citizen if no longer a member of or otherwise
connected with the party or organization.
Deportation
A person who has broken the immigration
laws and as a
result is under a deportation order cannot be
naturalized. This
provision may not apply to a person who is applying
for
naturalization based upon his or her military
service.
Literacy and Educational Requirements
Unless physically unable to do so, an
applicant for
naturalization must be able to speak and understand
simple
English as well as read and write it. However,
if on the date
of the examination the applicant is more than
50 years of age
and has been a lawful permanent resident for 20
years or more,
or the applicant is more than 55 years of age
and has been a
lawful permanent resident for 15 years or more,
the applicant
will be exempt from the English language requirement
of the
law. If exempt, the applicant may take the examination
in any
language.
All applicants physically able to write,
must also be able
to sign their names in the English language. However,
the
person mentioned above who is excused from knowing
English is
permitted to sign in a foreign language if unable
to sign in
English.
Every person applying for naturalization,
including the
persons mentioned above, must pass an examination
showing that
he or she is knowledgeable about the history and
form of
government of the United States. There are no
exceptions to
this requirement. The examination on these matters
and on
English is given by a naturalization examiner
at the time the
applicant appears for the examination on the application
for
naturalization. The questions the examiner asks
are in simple
English and to be able to answer them requires
knowledge only
of subjects that anyone who has really tried to
learn will be
familiar with.
The Service recognizes certain standardized
English
Language/Citizenship tests from private test givers
that an
applicant may take at approved testing sites.
The applicant may
take the test several times until achieving a
passing grade.
The Service is not advised of the identities of
those persons
who do not pass the test, and failure of this
test does not
have any effect in the applicant's ability to
retake this
alternative test or be tested by a Service officer.
The
successful results are transmitted to the Service.
However, an
applicant must submit a copy of his/her test results
with the
application. The test would be taken in place
of the test given
by a Service officer.
The applicant would still be examined
by a Service officer
on the contents of the application and the ability
to speak
English.
In many places the public schools, as
well as other
community groups, have citizenship classes to
prepare persons
to become citizens. Certain educational institutions
also offer
courses by mail for persons who want to study
under their
supervision at home instead of in school. The
nearest
Immigration and Naturalization Service office
can furnish
information about the correspondence courses.
The Federal
Government also publishes textbooks to aid applicants
for
naturalization in studying to become citizens.
It is upon the
information in these books that the examination
on history and
government is given. Applicants who attend citizenship
classes
in public schools or who are studying by mail
receive these
books from the schools without charge. The books
can also be
bought directly from the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402,
and can be
used to study privately at home instead of under
the
supervision of a school.
Form M-132, "Information Concerning
Citizenship Education
to Meet Naturalization Requirements," contains
more
information about the Federal Textbooks on Citizenship
and
courses that can be taken by mail. This form can
be obtained
without charge from the nearest office of the
Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
Oath of Allegiance
Before being admitted to citizenship (unless
a child is
too young to understand), an applicant for naturalization
must
give up any foreign allegiance and any foreign
title and must
promise to obey the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
Unless it is against his or her religious beliefs,
the
applicant must also promise to bear arms or fight
for the
United States, to perform other types of service
in the armed
forces of the United States, and to do work of
importance to
the national interest when asked to do so.
If it is against the religious beliefs
of a person to
fight for the United States or to perform other
types of
service in the armed forces of the United States,
that person
can be excused from promising to do these things
and may become
naturalized without making such a promise. However,
the person
cannot be excused from promising to do work as
a civilian which
is important to the nation.
Naturalization Requirements for Special Classes
Part 4
This part discusses special classes of
persons who may
become naturalized even though they cannot meet
all of the
requirements mentioned in Parts 2 and 3 of this
pamphlet. This
part will list under each class the particular
exemptions for
that class. Unless so listed, an applicant who
comes within a
special class generally must still meet the requirements
and
follow the procedures mentioned in Parts 2 and
3.
Wives and Husbands of United States Citizens
A person who is married to a citizen of
the United States
may become naturalized in the same way as any
other alien or
may take advantage of special naturalization exemptions
that
are granted to the spouse of a citizen of the
United States.
These exemptions fall into two classes, the first
is granted
simply because of the relationship to a citizen
and the second
is granted because of the relationship to a citizen
who is
stationed abroad. Both of these classes are discussed
below.
Marriage to a Citizen
An applicant:
(1) whose spouse has been a citizen of the
United States for
at least three years; and
(2) who has been married to and living with
the citizen spouse
for at least the three-year period just before
the date of
filing an application for naturalization
may become a
citizen of the United States upon meeting
all of the
requirements for naturalization in Parts
2 and 3 except:
Instead of five years' residence and 30
months' physical
presence, the applicant must reside in the
United States
for only three years after being lawfully
admitted for
permanent residence and just before filing
the
application. For at least one-half of that
three-year
period, or 18 months, the applicant must
have been present
in person in the United States.
Marriage to a Citizen Stationed Abroad
An applicant:
(1) whose spouse is a citizen of the United
States working or
serving in a foreign country for one of the
reasons below;
(2) who, upon becoming naturalized, will live
abroad with the
citizen spouse; and
(3) who will again reside in the United States
as soon as the
foreign work or service of the citizen spouse
ends may
become a citizen of the United States if
all the
requirements for naturalization in Parts
2 and 3 are met
except:
(a) the application does not have to be
filed in the place
where the applicant lives, but may be filed
in any Service
office; and
(b) the applicant may be naturalized without
having
resided in the United States or any State,
and without
having been physically present in the United
States, for
any particular length of time after being
lawfully
admitted for permanent residence.
Generally, if the applicant is absent
for one year or more
at any one time during the three-year period just
before-filing
the application, he or she breaks naturalization
residence and
must complete a new period of residence after
returning to the
United States. This means that he or she will
have to wait at
least 2 years and 1 day after coming back before
he or she can
be naturalized. Furthermore. if during the three-year
period he
or she has been absent for a total of more than
18 months, he
or she will have to stay in the United States
until he or she
has been physically present for at least a total
of 18 months
out of the last three years just before filing
an application
for naturalization.
Overseas assignment of Citizen Spouse
For the applicant to qualify for the exceptions
mentioned
previously, the citizen spouse must be working
or serving in
the foreign country:
(1) in the employment of the United States
Government
(including service in the armed forces of
the United
States);
(2) in the employment of an American institution
of research
recognized by the Attorney General;
(3) in the employment of an American firm
or corporation, or
its subsidiary, which is developing the foreign
trade of
the United States;
(4) in the employment of certain public international
organizations in which the United States
takes part;
(5) under authority to perform the functions
of a minister or
priest of a religious denomination having
an organization
within the United States; or
(6) under an engagement solely as a missionary
by a religious
denomination or by an interdenominational
mission
organization having an organization within
the United
States.
The applicant must include with the application
a written
statement indicating that the citizen spouse's
employment meets
these qualifications, that the applicant intends
to reside
abroad with the citizen spouse, and that the applicant
intends
to take up residence within the United States
immediately upon
the termination of such employment abroad of the
citizen
spouse.
Surviving Spouse of United States Citizen Service
Member
Any person whose citizen spouse dies during
a period of
honorable and active service in the armed forces
of the United
States, and who was living in marital union with
the citizen
spouse at the time of the service member's death,
may become a
citizen of the United States if all the requirements
in Parts 2
and 3 are met except:
(a) the application does not have to be filed
in the place
where the applicant lives, but may be filed
in any Service
office; and
(b) the applicant may be naturalized without
having been
physically present in the United States for
any particular
length of time after being lawfully admitted
for permanent
residence.
Naturalization of Children of Citizen Parents
The fact that one or both parents may
have been citizens
of the United States at the time of a child's
birth in a
foreign country, or may have become naturalized
citizens of the
United States after the child's birth is not enough
in itself
to give United States Citizenship automatically
to the child.
Additional conditions which must be satisfied
by the parents
and child affect the question of whether the child
becomes a
citizen. For more information on who is a citizen
automatically, please refer to Part 7, Certificates
of
Citizenship for children and wives of citizens.
A child who is
under 18 years of age and a lawful permanent resident,
who is
not a citizen automatically through the parents,
may
nevertheless become a citizen if an application
for
naturalization is filed by the citizen parent
on behalf of the
child under certain conditions.
(1) The citizen parent must file an "Application
for
Naturalization," Form N-400, with the
required fee.
(2) The child is required to submit a fingerprint
chart, Form
FD-258, if 14 years of age or older.
(3) The child's naturalization -- admission
to citizenship
-- must be completed before the child's 18th
birthday.
The child and a parent (not necessarily
the parent who
filed the application on behalf of the child)
would be required
to appear at an oath ceremony to be administered
the oath of
allegiance, unless the child is of tender years,
in which case
the administration of the oath may be waived.
The child does not have to:
(1) speak, read, or write English;
(2) know about the history and form of government
of the
United States; or
(3) have lived or been physically present
in the United States
or in a State for any particular length of
time after
admission for permanent residence.
Naturalization of Adopted Children of Citizen
Parents
A child who is adopted by a citizen parent
or parents does
not automatically become a United States citizen.
A child adopted either in the United States
or abroad by
two citizen parents (or only one parent if the
parent is
unmarried) and admitted to the United States as
a lawful
permanent resident before reaching the age of
18 years may
naturalize if the child:
(1) is under 18 years of age;
(2) was adopted before reaching the age of
16 by the citizen
parent(s);
(3) is residing in the United States in the
custody of the
adopting citizen parent(s), pursuant to a
lawful admission
for permanent residence;
(4) at least one of the citizen parents files
Form N-643,
"Application for Certificate of Citizenship
in Behalf of
an Adopted Child," before the child
reaches the age of 18,
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service;
and
(5) the parents are be citizens at the time
of filing the
application.
The child is not a citizen until the N-643
is approved.
The child may also be naturalized under
the procures
outlined in the section entitled Naturalization
of Children.
This would be the only procedure available if
the parents wish
to change the child name as a part of the naturalization
or if
the adoptive parents are married and only one
is a United
States citizen.
Former United States Citizens
The only former citizens of the United
States who are
granted any exceptions from the requirements for
naturalization
in Pads 2 and 3 are persons who lost their United
States
citizenship during World War II as a result of
service in the
armed forces of certain foreign countries and
women who lost
their United States citizenship as a result of
marriage to
aliens. Both of these classes are discussed below:
Veterans of Foreign Armed Forces
Any person who:
(1) lost United States citizenship between
September 1, 1939
and September 2, 1945;
(2) as a result of service between September
1, 1939 and
September 2, 1945 in the armed forces of
a foreign
country; and
(3) fought against a country with which the
United States was
at war after December 7, 1941 and before
September 2,
1945, may become a citizen of the United
States if he or
she meets all of the requirements for naturalization
in
Parts 2 and 3 except:
(a) the application for naturalization
does not have to be
filed in the place where he or she lives,
but it can be
filed in any Service office; and
(b) he or she can be naturalized without
having resided
and without" having been physically
present in the United
States or any State for any particular length
of time
after admission for permanent residence.
American Women Who Married Aliens
As a general rule, a woman automatically
lost her United
States citizenship if, before September 22, 1922,
she married
an alien, or her husband was naturalized in a
foreign country,
or if, between that date and March 3, 1931, she
married an
alien who was not of the white race or African
race. In each of
these instances, she lost her citizenship if she
entered into
the marriage with the intention of relinquishing
her United
States citizenship.
If citizenship was lost by such marriage,
there are
simplified ways in which United States citizenship
and the
rights of citizenship may be regained. However,
not all cases
follow the same procedure. For example, some women
who were
native-born citizens and whose marriages either
ended before
January 13, 1941, or who remained in the United
States after
the marriages, have been automatically given back
their United
States citizenship, but they must take an oath
of allegiance to
the United States before they can do what only
a citizen can
do, such as vote. Others must file an application
for
naturalization in order to get back their United
States
citizenship, but they are exempt from some of
the requirements
in Parts 2 and 3, such as from any particular
period of
residence and physical presence in the United
States.
Any woman who was the wife of an alien
at any time during
the periods stated above and who wants advice
about her
citizenship may get it at the nearest office of
the Immigration
and Naturalization Service or, if she is abroad,
at the nearest
American Consulate.
Service Members of the Military or Veterans
An alien who has served or is serving
in .the armed forces
of the United States does not automatically become
a citizen of
the United States. Like other aliens, such alien
must apply for
naturalization and be admitted to citizenship.
However,
depending upon such matters as the period during
which he or
she served, the length of service, and other factors
which will
be mentioned below- he or she may be exempt from
some of the
requirements other aliens must meet.
Military Service During Certain Periods
A person who has served honorably and
actively in the
armed forces of the United States, no matter how
briefly,
during any part of the periods:
(a) April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918;
(b) September 1, 1939 to December 31, 1946;
(c) June 25, 1950 to July 1, 1955;
(d) February 28, 1961, to October 15, 1978;
or
(e) October 25, 1983 to November 2, 1983 (for
qualifying
active duty in the geographic area of Grenada
campaign),
and who is not within any of the below listed
ineligible
classes is exempt from the following requirements.
(1) No lawful admission for permanent residence
is required if
he or she was inducted, enlisted or reenlisted
at any time
in the United States, the Panama Canal Zone,
American
Samoa, or Swains Island. If he or she did
not at any time
enter into such armed forces in one of the
places
mentioned he or she must have been lawfully
admitted for
permanent residence before he or she can
be naturalized.
(2) He or she need not have resided or been
physically present
in the United States or any State for any
particular
length of time.
(3) He or she does not have to file the application
in the
place where he or she lives, but can file
it in any
Service office.
(4) He or she may be naturalized regardless
of the fact that
the person has been ordered deported from
the United
States.
Ineligible Service Members
The following persons do not qualify for
the special
naturalization exemptions discussed immediately
above:
(1) veterans who were discharged at their
request because of
alienage;
(2) conscientious objectors who performed
no military duty
whatever or refused to wear the uniform;
or
(3) veterans who were once naturalized on
the basis of the
same period of military service and have
since lost their
citizenship.
The fact that a person is ineligible for
naturalization as
such a veteran does not mean that he or she may
not be
naturalized under the general naturalization laws
applicable to
other classes of aliens. He or she may still qualify
for
naturalization if able to meet the naturalization
requirements
applicable to other aliens.
Service for Three Years
Veterans who have been lawfully admitted
to the United
States for permanent residence and who have served
honorably at
any time for as much as three years, and who have
received an
honorable discharge, are entitled to certain exemptions
from
the requirements stated in Parts 2 and 3 if they
come within
one of the following classes:
(1) When Three Years' Service Continuous.
A person who has
served honorably at any time in the armed
forces of the
United States for a continuous period of
three years and
who applies for naturalization while still
in the service
or not later than six months after discharge
from service
may be naturalized:
(a) without having resided and without
having been
physically present in the United States for
any
particular length of time;
(b) without filing the application for
naturalization in
the place of residence, it may be filed in
any Service
office; and
(c) regardless of the fact that the person
has been
ordered deported from the United States.
(2) When Three Years' Service Not Continuous.
A person who has
served honorably at any time for three years
but whose
service is made up of short periods of service,
instead of
one continuous period, and who applies for
naturalization
while still in the service or not later than
six months
after discharge from service is entitled
to the exemptions
stated in (b) and (c) immediately above.
However, for any
part of the five years just before he or
she files the
application for naturalization and which
is between the
periods of service, he or she will have to
prove residence
and the other qualifications for naturalization.
(3) Application Made More Than Six Months
After Service Ends.
A person who has the three years of honorable
service but
who fails to apply for naturalization until
more than six
months after such service has ended is not
qualified for
the exemptions stated in (1) above and must
comply with
all the requirements in Parts 2 and 3 except
that:
(a) all service within five years of the
date when filing
the application is considered residence and
physical
presence in the United States; and
(b) the fact that the person has been
ordered deported
from the United States does not in itself
bar him or her
from becoming a citizen.
If a service member for any reason is
unable to qualify
for the exemptions given to these veterans he
or she may
nevertheless be naturalized under the naturalization
laws
applicable to other classes of aliens if those
requirements are
met.
Note to persons with three years of service
who must apply
for naturalization within six months after discharge:
the
application must be filed with the Service office
within the
six month period.
Mariners
A merchant mariner whose employment aboard
a vessel
requires absence from the United States is exempt
in part from
the general residence and physical presence requirements
for
naturalization. He or she has the right to count
the time of
service as a merchant mariner outside the United
States if such
service was not as a member of the armed forces
of the United
States and it meets the-below listed conditions.
(1) It was performed on board a vessel:
(a) operated by the United States or one
of its agencies
and owned by the United States;
(b) with its home port in the United States
and registered
under the laws of the United States; or
(c) with its home port in the United States
and owned by a
citizen of the United States or a corporation
organized
under the laws of a State.
(2) It was performed:
(a) honorably or with good conduct;
(b) after lawful admission to the United
Sites for
permanent residence; and
(c) within five years of the date of filing
the
application for naturalization.
Employees of Organizations Promoting United
States Interests
Abroad
A person who has been lawfully admitted
to this country
for permanent residence and who thereafter is
employed abroad
by a United States incorporated nonprofit organization
which is
principally engaged in conducting abroad through
communications
media the dissemination of information which significantly
promotes United States interests abroad and which
is recognized
as such by the Attorney General, may take advantage
of special
naturalization exemptions. Examples of such an
organization are
Radio Free Europe, Inc., Radio Liberty Committee,
and Radio
Marti.
Such a person is not required to reside
or to be
physically present in the United States (see pages
7, 8, 9, and
10) for any particular period of time before becoming
a
citizen, if the following conditions are met
(1) he or she has been employed by the organization
continuously for at least five years after
becoming a
permanent resident;
(2) the application is filed with the Service
office while the
applicant is still employed, or within six
months after
leaving such employment; and
(3) upon becoming a citizen, the employee
must intend to take
up residence in this country as soon as the
foreign
employment ends. If the applicant is no longer
employed by
the organization at the time of filing the
application,
then he or she must intend to continue living
in the
United States upon becoming a citizen.
Posthumous Citizenship
Posthumous citizenship may be granted
to an alien or
noncitizen national of the United States who died
as a result
of injury or disease incurred in, or aggravated
by service, in
the United States Armed Forces during a specified
period of
military hostilities.
This is an honorific action which does
not confer any
benefits nor make applicable any provision of
the Immigration
and Nationality Act to the surviving spouse, parent,
son,
daughter, or other relative of the decedent.
The decedent's nearest relative, or a
properly appointed
representative, may request this benefit on Form
N-644,
"Application for Posthumous Citizenship,"
with the required
fee.
Naturalization and Citizenship Paper Lost,
Mutilated or
Destroyed, or Where Name has been Changed
Part 5
A person whose "Declaration of Intention"
or whose
certificate of naturalization/citizenship has
been lost,
mutilated or destroyed, or naturalized person
whose name has
been changed by a court or by marriage after naturalization,
may apply for a new declaration or certificate.
The
application, Form N-565 "Application for
a New Naturalization
or Citizenship Document," can be obtained
without charge from
the nearest office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service. It should be filled out, following the
instructions
and then taken or mailed to that office with the
required
photographs and fee. No currency should be sent
in the mail.
That office will then take the action necessary
with regard to
issuing the new document and will inform the applicant
further.
Declaration of Intention
Part 6
Before the present naturalization law
came into effect on
December 24, 1952, persons generally were required
to file a
declaration of intention to become a citizen of
the United
States -- which was known as the "first paper"
-- and then had
to wait for not less than two years before they
could take the
next step toward becoming a citizen of the United
States, that
is, before they could file a petition for naturalization.
Since
1952 a declaration of intention is no longer required
before a
person can become a citizen, and an application
for
naturalization may be filed as soon as the required
residence
and other qualifications for citizenship have
been met.
The law still permits the "Declaration
of Intention," to
be filed, if one is needed for such reasons as
getting certain
employment or license of some kind. The only requirements
are
that the person be at least 18 years old and lawfully
admitted
to the United States for permanent residence.
The declaration
may be filed at any time after admission for permanent
residence and in any Service office.
The person is not required to be able
to read, write, and
speak English or to pass any examination on the
history and
form of government of the United States, and he
or she may sign
the declaration in amy language or by mark.
The application is Form N-300, "Application
to File
Declaration of Intention." This form may
be obtained from the
nearest office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service
or, possibly, from a social service agency in
the community. It
is filed with the nearest office of the Immigration
and
Naturalization Service. Form N-300 requires three
photographs
and payment of a fee as described in the application.
Certificates of Citizenship for Children and
Wives of Citizens
Part 7
Many persons, though not born in the United
States or ever
naturalized as United States citizens, may be
citizens as a
result of their-relationship to a United States
citizen. The
conditions under which a person may have become
a citizen have
varied from time to time and, therefore, differ
so much from
case to case that they cannot all be presented
in detail within
this pamphlet. However, we will attempt to identify
the general
rules of acquiring citizenship through a parent
or spouse.
A child born in a foreign country of one
or two United
States citizen parents may acquire United States
citizenship
automatically at birth if certain conditions are
fulfilled:
(1) both parents are United States citizens
at the time of the
child's birth and one of the parents has
resided for any
length of time in the United States or its
outlying
possessions before the child's birth;
(2) one parent is a United States citizen
and the other is
an alien and the citizen parent was physically
present in
the United States or its outlying possessions
for a period
or periods totaling 5 years before the child's
birth, and
at least two of those five years were after
the citizen
parent was 14 years old. If a child was born
before
November 14, 1986, these physical presence
requirements
for the parent are different, generally,
at least ten
years of physical presence is required; and
(3) time served abroad in the following capacities
can be
counted by the citizen parent in order to
satisfy the
requirement of prior physical presence in
the United
States:
(a) honorable service in the United States
armed forces;
(b) employment by the United States government;
(c) employment by an international organization
associated
with the United States; and
(d) physical presence abroad as a dependent
unmarried son
or daughter and member of the household of
a person
employed abroad in one of the above categories.
It must be noted that the laws in effect
at the time of
birth of the child will determine whether acquisition
will
occur. In addition, different rules may apply
if a child was
born illegitimate.
As discussed in part 2, a child born in
a foreign country
of alien parents, or adopted by alien parents,
may have become
a United States citizen automatically after birth,
without
having himself or herself applied for naturalization,
if one or
both of his or her parents became naturalized
before the child
reaches a certain age It must be noted that the
law in effect
at the time of the parent's naturalization will
determine if
the child becomes a citizen.
Currently, a child who is a lawful permanent
resident,
under 18 years of age and unmarried may automatically
derive
citizenship of the United States through the parents
under
certain conditions:
(1) a child whose parents are lawful permanent
residents
becomes a United States citizen-on the date
that the last
parent is naturalized before the child's
18th birthday;
(2) a child who has one of the natural parents
already a
citizen, and the other natural parent becomes
naturalized
before the child's 18th birthday;
(3) a child whose surviving parent, or the
parent
exercising legal custody where the parents
are legally
separated or divorced, is naturalized before
the child's
18th birthday, regardless whether the other
parent was or
is an alien; or
(4) an illegitimate child whose mother naturalizes
before the
child's 18th birthday and paternity has not
been
established.
If only one of the child's parents naturalizes
and the
other remains a permanent resident, the child
does not derive
citizenship. Instead, the citizen parent may file
a separate
Application for Naturalization (N-400) on behalf
of the child
if the citizen parent wants the child to become
a citizen
before the second parent naturalizes.
An adopted child, however, does NOT become
a citizen of
the United States automatically, through adoption
by citizen
parents. See the information in Part 4 regarding
the
naturalization of adopted children.
Also, women who married citizens of the
United States
before September 22, 1922, or whose husbands became
citizens
during the marriage and before September 22, 1922,
may have
automatically become citizens of the United States
as a result
of their marriages. Consequently, persons who
need additional
information along these lines should communicate
with any
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Persons who have become citizens automatically
may be
issued certificates of citizenship by the Immigration
and
Naturalization Service in their own names, showing
that they
are citizens through their husbands or parents.
A person who
desires to obtain such a certificate (including
a parent or
guardian of a child too young to act for himself
or herself)
may submit an application on Form N-600, "Application
for
Certificate of Citizenship," to the nearest
office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. The filing
of the
application is an entirely voluntary matter, however,
and the
failure to submit it does not in any way affect
a person's
citizenship.
The applicant should be prepared to submit
in connection
with the application evidence of birth, marriage,
death,
divorce, and other essential matters in the form
of
certificates or documents which will prove the
claim to
citizenship through marriage or through parents.
Detailed
instructions regarding the nature of the proof
needed in each
case are included in the application form.
Legalizing Stay In the United States
Part 8
In the cases of some foreign-born persons
who are in the
United States, them are no records showing admission
for
permanent residence, or at least no records can
be found. These
persons may have been brought here during childhood
and may
never have known just when or how they came; or
they may have
come here as visitors or other temporary nonimmigrant
class and
decided to stay; or they may have entered unlawfully.
Since no records of lawful admission for
permanent
residence can be identified, they cannot become
citizens of the
United States until such records have been made.
An alien
eligible for citizenship and not within a class
barred from the
United States under the immigration laws, such
as criminals and
other immoral persons, subversives, smugglers,
and persons
unlawfully connected with narcotics who have resided
in the
United States since before January 1, 1972, can
have a record
of lawful admission to the United States for permanent
residence created if they are persons of good
moral character.
The application is Form I-485, "Application
for Permanent
Residence." This form, together with information
about the
procedure to be followed, may be obtained from
the nearest
Immigration and Naturalization Service office.
The required
fee, photographs and supporting documents must
be filed with
the nearest Immigration and Naturalization Service
office.
If an applicant can prove that he or she
has been in the
United States since before July 1, 1924, the record
of
admission will be made as of the date of actual
entry into the
United States and he or she will be able to apply
for
naturalization without completing any more residence
in the
United States. If an applicant did not come to
the United
States until on or after July 1, 1924 but before
January 1,
1972, the record of admission will be made as
of the date the
application is approved, and he or she will then
have to
complete whatever additional residence and physical
presence in
the United States are required for naturalization.
Persons who claim to have entered the
United States on or
after January 1, 1972, should ask for information
and advice
from the nearest office of the Immigration and
Naturalization
Service or a social service agency.
Offices of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service
Part 9
The following is a list of offices of
the Immigration and
Naturalization Service from which information
concerning matter
referred to in this pamphlet may be obtained.
(* Indicates
District Offices):
Agana, Guam 96910 Charlotte,
NC 28217
801 Pacific News Bldg., 6 Woodlawn Green,
238 O'Hara St. Room 138
Albany, NY 12207 *Chicago, IL
60604
James T. Foley Federal 10 West Jackson
Blvd
Courthouse, Room 220
445 Broadway
Albuquerque, NM 87103 Cincinnati,
OH 45202
517 Gold Ave. S.W., 550 Main Street,
Room 1010, P.O. Box 567 Room 8525
*Anchorage, AK 99501 *Cleveland,
OH 44199
7581 Anthony Celebreeze
620 East 10th Ave., Federal Building
Suite 102 1240 E. 9th Street,
Room 1917
Atlanta, GA 30303 *Dallas, TX
75247
77 Forsyth Street, S.W. 8101 N. Stemmons
Room G-85 Freeway
*Baltimore, MD 21201 *Denver,CO
80239-2804
Equitable Tower 4730 Paris Street
100 South Charles, Albrook Center
12th Floor
*Boston, MA 02203 *Detroit, MI
48207-4381
JFK Federal Building 333 Mt. Elliott
St.
Government Center
*Buffalo, NY 14202 *El Paso,TX
79901
68 Court Street 700 E. San Antonio
St.
P.O. Box 9398-79984
Fresno, CA 93721-2816 *Los Angeles,
CA
865 Fulton Mall 90012
300 N. Los Angeles
Street
*Harlingen, TX 78550 Louisville,
KY 40202
2102 Teege Road Room 604, Gene
Snyder Courthouse
601 West Broadway
Hartford, CT 06103-3060 Memphis, TN
38103-
Ribicoff Federal Bldg 3815
450 Main Street 245 Wagner Place
Suite 250
*Helena, MT 59626 *Miami, FL
33138
Federal Bldg., Rm 512 7880 Biscayne
Blvd.
301 South Park, Drawer
10036
*Honolulu, HI 96813 Milwaukee,
WI 53202
595 Ala Moana Blvd. Federal Building,
Room 186
517 E. Wisconsin
Av.
*Houston, TX 77060
509 North Belt
Indianapolis,IN 46204 *Newark, NJ
07102
Gateway Plaza, Room 400 Federal Bldg.,
950 North Meridian St. 970 Broad Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202 *New Orleans,
LA
400 West Bay Street 70113
Room G-18 Postal Service
Bldg.
P.O. Box 35029 701 Loyola Avenue
Room T-8005
*Kansas City, MO 64153
9747 North Conant Ave. *New York, NY
10278
26 Federal Plaza
Las Vegas, NV 89101
300 Las Vegas Blvd.
Room 1430
Norfolk, VA 23510 Sacramento,
CA 95814
Norfolk Fed. Bldg. 711 "J"
Street
200 Granby Mall
Room 439
Oklahoma City, OK Salt Lake City,
UT
73108 84101
149 Highline Blvd. 230 W. 400 South
St
Suite 300
*San Antonio,
TX
*Omaha, NE 68144 78239
3736 South 8940 Fourwinds
Drive
132nd St.
* San Diego, CA
*Philadelphia, PA 92188
19130 880 Frnot Street
1600 Callowhill St
*Phoenix, AZ 85004 * San Francisco,
CA
2035 N. Central Ave. 94111-2280
630 Sansome Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
RM 2130 Federal Bldg. San Jose, CA 95113
1000 Liberty Avenue 280 South First
St.
Room 1150
* Portland, ME 04103
739 Warren Avenue *San Juan, PR
00936
P.O. Box 365068
* Portland, OR 97209
Federal Office Bldg. *Seattle, WA 98134
511 N.W. Broadway 815 Airport Way,
S.
Providence, RI 02903 Spokane, WA
99201
203 John O. Pastors 691 U.S. Courthouse
Federal Building Building
Reno, NV 89502 St. Albans,
VT 05478
712 Mill Street Federal Building
P.O. Box 328
St. Louis, MO 63103-2815
Robert A. Young
Federal. Building
1222 Spruce Street
*St. Paul
Bloomington, MN 55425
2901 Metro Drive
Suite 100
Tampa, FL 33609
5509 W. Gray Street
Suite 113
*Washington, DC
Arlington, VA 22203
4420 N. Fairfax Dr.
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